Twisted Threads
by llamaglamasama
Summary: Eiji, seeing his friend plunged into a depression, decides to take matters into his own hands and signs them up for an exchange program in America. While there, they happen to come across a familiar boy wearing a white Fila cap. Set in high school.


Note: Canon events according to the manga. Thrill pair and Golden pair, plus the use of many OC's that will actually serve a purpose.

Fuji Syuusuke sighed, brushing his long brown hair away from his smiling eyes. He never opened them, giving himself an image of kind innocence, but those who knew him better knew that wasn't true. Oh, Syuusuke was kind enough, until you ran into his sadistic streak. Unfortunately for those who had, it was a very _large_ streak. Still, his vicious manner aside, he'd done nothing to deserve this sort of punishment, really, he hadn't.

This punishment referred to the exchange program his oh-so-helpful childhood friend had signed them both up for. Fuji sighed again. He supposed the redheaded boy wasn't completely to blame. He'd done it with the intention of drawing Syuusuke out of the bored depression he'd fallen in, so his heart was in the right place. None the less, sitting in a plane for hours on end was enough to incur his wrath as he stretched his stiff muscles. To make matters worse, now that they'd arrived, he'd have to find room and board for him and his over-energetic friend. Clearly, Eiji hadn't put enough planning into this whole deal.

Fuji reached over and nudged his sleeping friend. He felt a stab of guilt pierce him when the boy murmured, "Oishi," but really, was it his fault the acrobatic boy had gone and left his doubles partner? No, it wasn't, so he wasn't going to feel the slightest bit guilty. Still, he couldn't help the wave of sympathy that washed over him. Kikumaru Eiji had a kind heart, but in the end, that heart would probably cost him more trouble than it was worth.

"C'mon, Eiji, the plane landed." Fuji nudged the boy once more and allowed himself a genuine smile when the boy snuggled into the seat before cracking an eye at him.

"Nya, Fujiko? Wha –" He spoke around a yawn, "What's up?"

"Plane's landed. We're here." Eiji blinked for a moment as his words ran through his head, but once they did, he jumped up with a renewed energy.

"Saa…where to first?" Fuji questioned, surveying the bustling airport around them. The way the exchange program was _supposed_ to work, they'd be staying with the families of kids who were doing the opposite version of their program, but Fuji had a sneaking suspicion that Eiji hadn't quite done the right organizing to clear things for them here.

They decided to walk around a bit and get a feel for the new environment. Unfortunately, they discovered quite quickly that junior and high school English courses prepared you for squat in the real world. Eiji better appreciate his tensai skills, seeing as it looked like the redhead was having a hard time stringing words together.

They'd been wandering around rather absentmindedly, dragging their luggage and looking for a hotel, and didn't notice when a young women came into their path. Eiji and the girl collided together and went sprawling on their butts. Fuji, after realizing what happened, offered them both a hand up and apologized in English, flashing a winning smile at her face.

"Ah, thank you. A-are you both okay?" She asked, dusting her short, denim skirt off. She was a pretty girl, probably in her early twenties, with short black hair that hung loosely around her shoulders and sparkling green eyes that peeked out behind her thin glasses.

Eiji nodded, though Syuusuke wasn't sure if he actually understood her; he may have just caught the drift from the present predicament.

"Oh, that's right. Um, would you two be interested in making a few bucks helping me? You see, I need to move these boxes," She gestured to a stack of cardboard boxes sitting inside a blue Sudan, "but they're a little heavy for me."

Kikumaru looked at the girl in confusion, but Fuji smiled and agreed. "I'm Syuusuke Fuji, by the way."

She smiled at them. "Rosanne Velano," She held out a hand to Fuji.

"I'm Kikumaru Eiji, nya." The redhead smiled brilliantly.

"Eiji Kikumaru, actually," Syuusuke murmured and accepted her hand. He and Eiji grabbed a box and asked her where to put them. She led them back a little ways to a small shop. It was located in a rather shabby building and the paint job could certainly use some work, as could be attested by the fading letters that spelled out _Velano Merchandise_, but it also gave off welcoming vibes as they stepped inside the small place. The air conditioning hit them full in the face as they took in the softly colored walls and the rows of shelves containing everything from pencils and candy to slinkies and marionettes.

"Just here is fine." She smiled at them, motioning to a corner behind the glass desk. Inside the desk, which held the cash register and other business needs, were action figures and little pins with adorable faces drawn on them. Eiji giggled happily, inspecting the cute objects.

"Forgive him; he's rather fond of anything 'cute'." Fuji apologized again, but Rosanne just smiled and waved him off.

"Do you like them? I made them myself."

"Really?" Eiji looked absolutely delighted and Syuusuke was reminded of a child faced with his first puppy. He shook his head lightly and went back out to bring the rest of the boxes in for the girl. It was nice, having confronted their first American and discovering she was quite friendly.

He finished bringing the stuff in to hear Rosanne explain how the small shop was their family business and that she'd been making stuff for it since she was a young child.

"You know, actually, we're looking for part-time employees right now, if you're looking for a job.

"Thanks, but we really need to find somewhere to stay first. We're doing some foreign exchange thing but I think we missed some of the details." Fuji explained while Eiji squealed over all the different things he was finding.

"Well, I'm sure it's not as good as a hotel or anything, but we do have some rooms open upstairs." He furrowed his brow slightly and she explained, "We own the apartment above this shop, my grandmother and me. If you'd be willing to work, I'm sure I could talk her into letting you stay. Er, that is if you don't mind…" She trailed off, awkwardly, blushing in embarrassment.

"Hmm, well, that would be very nice, Velano-san. We need to see where the school is, though. It would cause problems if it was far away."

She smiled widely. "Rosanne, please. In America, a lot of people refer to others by their first names. When we don't, we use Mr. or Ms." She corrected softly.

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten that. Thank you." He bowed slightly to her and called Eiji over in Japanese. He explained the situation to him and Eiji agreed immediately.

"Alright, then. I'll ask Grandma, and you can go scout out your new school. If anything happens, you can call me at this number." She recited it for them twice and Fuji recorded it in his phone.

"Thank you, Rosanne-san." Both gave her a smile and left.

They walked for a while, following the address on the information sheet they'd gotten in the mail, and eventually found a brick building with the words _Jefferson High School_ spelled out vertically on the side. They walked towards the building and were pleased to see that the gate was open, inviting them in. They found the main office and entered it, nodding to the secretary behind the desk.

"May I help you?" She asked. She sounded very bored, and hit a few buttons on her computer.

"Um, we're part of the Japanese exchange program." Fuji started, not quite sure what he was supposed to say.

She nodded, "Names?"

"Syuusuke Fuji and Eiji Kikumaru."

She shuffled through a few papers on her desk before handing them both a sheet of paper. "These are your schedules for the time you spend here. Next to your names are your ID numbers. You'll get an ID card as well, as soon as possible, and your expected to hang onto that card at all times while in the school. Here are maps of the school." She handed them two more sheets of paper. "I'm afraid you're out of luck on lockers. There's never enough for everyone of each year. You'll just have to carry your textbooks around or find some other way to manage." She smiled at them with a note of finality. "School starts for you immediately. Tomorrow, you'll accompany a student around the school, going by their schedule. That student will be chosen by the teacher in your first class, which you are expected to report for promptly at 8:15, understood?"

They nodded and left the woman to work. "Ne, Fujiko?" Kikumaru used Japanese to speak. "What did she even say?" Syuusuke laughed and relayed the stuff he caught. "Oh. Thank god it's a non-uniform school, though." He smiled, cheerfully. "And now we can stay with Rosanne-san."

"Ah."

--

"Oh, that's great! Then you're all settled for school?" Rosanne was thrilled with their news on the proximity of the school. "Grandma said you could stay, but you'll have to work the afternoon shift after school gets out. That's when we have most of our customers, anyway." The two Japanese boys agreed. "Okay then, I'll show you to your room." They took their suitcases and followed her up the stairs through a room behind the desk. "This is the bathroom, the kitchen and dining room, living room, Grandma's room is the one at the end of the hall, and this one is yours, right beside mine."

She pointed them to a door on the left. The room was average size, containing one king size bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. There was a dresser pressed against the south wall, next to the bed, and the closet took up the east wall of the room. They looked around quietly, setting their stuff down on the bed. Syuusuke noted the thick layer of dust coating the furniture.

"Sorry about the bed," Rosanne said. "We can get two new ones for you, if you like."

Kikumaru shook his head, not wanting to be a burden. "It's okay," He said through a heavy accent. "Fujiko and I are childhood friends; we've had to share a bed more than once in the past. It doesn't really matter."

Fuji nodded. "Thank you for allowing us to stay, Rosanne-san."

She frowned. "Just Rosanne. I'm guessing this 'san' thing is like Mr. or Ms. But we don't use that here. Besides, it's weird to be though of as Miss Rosanne." She giggled lightly and left them to settle in.

Eiji sent his friend a smile and began unpacking, flinging his clothes into the closet. They hadn't exactly packed light as they had expected to stay there for quite some time, so it took them a few hours before they finished. After that, the flopped on the bed, exhausted, and surrendered to the grasp of sleep.

--

Eiji woke when a yellow blur peeked through their window and sighed. He was glad he'd managed to do something for Fujiko and possibly keep him entertained, but coming all the way to Los Angeles meant…

'Oishi…' Kikumaru frowned against his pillow. It had barely been over a day and he already missed his partner. Letting out a slow breath, he sat up and ran a hair through his wild hair. He noticed Fuji still asleep next to him and a smile lit his face. Even if it meant being apart from some of his closest friends, if Fujiko had a chance of being happier here, it was worth it.

He looked up to a knock on the door and Rosanne poked her head in. "The bathroom's free for use." She said. "I can't remember if the clock in there works, but it's about 6:50 something."

Eiji nodded. "Thanks," He said, grabbing some clothes and other necessities. He dove into the bathroom and immerged fifteen minutes later, dressed and hair back to its semi-tame domain. He walked back into the room and threw a pillow at Syuusuke. "Wake up, nya! We can't be late our first day." Fuji moaned and waved an arm at him. Not satisfied, Eiji pulled the sheets back, exposing his body to the cool air. Fuji rose, a killer glare in his eyes and made his way to the bathroom. Eiji ignored the glare, knowing that Fuji'd rather wake up early with major jet lag than be late their first day.

Smiling, he grabbed his school stuff and the bag he was using. Since the school had no regulations on backpacks, Eiji had decided to go with a black shoulder bag that would be easy to carry around. Hauling books and the like all over that big school was not an idea Kikumaru relished. He greeted Fuji when he returned and waited for him to get similarly ready before they both headed into the kitchen.

The house had a simple layout. The living room and dining room were sort of morphed into one and placed next to the kitchen while three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one in the master bedroom, surrounded it.

When they ducked into the kitchen, they were treated to the sweet smell of pancakes and bacon already set on the table. At one end, an elderly woman read the newspaper with critical eyes. She would occasionally stab her meal when she read something she didn't like, or pause, coffee cup halfway to her mouth, to read something that caught her interest. Standing in the kitchen, cleaning a pan, Rosanne smiled at them and invited them to dig in to the food. They did so, with a mumbled 'itadakimasu' under their breaths. It was odd, living in a place that practiced different customs, but it wasn't bad. When they'd finished, Eiji took their plates to the sink and glanced at the clock. It was around 7:45 and they were planning on walking, so they'd better head out soon.

Fuji rose and bowed to the old woman. "Thank you for your hospitality and for allowing us a place to stay. Enjoy your day, please." He and Kikumaru waved goodbye to Rosanne and left the establishment.

The walk to Jefferson High wasn't long, only about ten minutes, and they chatted amiably in Japanese most of the way. They noticed a few odd looks sent their way by passing kids whom they assumed were students, but for the most part, ignored them. Once they arrived, they were a little stunned by the bustling activity in and around the building. American kids sure were rowdy.

They glanced at their schedules and saw their first class to be together, Calculus AB in room 214. They climbed the stairs to the second floor, marveling at the size of the place. This high school was huge!

Finding room 214, they entered the classroom together, in spite of the minutes left until the bell. There was one student sitting on the far side of the room, concentration resting on the novel in his hands, and a woman was sitting behind the computer in the back. She looked up as they entered and smiled.

"Hello," She greeted. "I'm Miss Neilson, is there something I can do for you?" The lady was pretty and probably quite young.

"Um, we're new students from Japan." Syuusuke said slowly. Dammit, what was he getting all nervous for? He was the tensai of Seigaku; there was no way a slight case of nerves was going to get in his way. "I'm Syuusuke Fuji and this is Eiji Kikumaru."

Her smile widened. "May I see your schedules?" After inspecting them, she handed them back. "Welcome to Calculus AB, gentlemen." She went to a cupboard and pulled out two textbooks. "If there's anything you don't understand in the lesson, just speak up, alright?" She smiled and started to turn away until she remembered something. "You, um, _do_ both know English well enough, right?"

Eiji frowned slightly, but Fuji kept his close-eyed smile trained on the instructor. "I'm sure we'll manage."

"Good." She nodded. "Class will be starting in a minute, so just take a seat in the back, okay?" They did as told, sitting in two desks next to a window. Somehow this didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

When the bell rang, Miss Neilson walked to the front of the class and quieted everyone down. "Get out your homework for section 9.2. In the mean time, please welcome our new exchange students, Syuusuke and Eiji." Immediately, everyone's heads swung back to stair at the two of them. Okay, talk about awkward, especially when she began speaking again and everyone's heads snapped back to the front. Did this lady have control or what? "Adrian, why don't you show these two around the school for the day, alright?" A boy with light blonde hair nodded and flashed them a grin.

Adrian was friendly enough, though it was irritating at times when he started talking really fast and they couldn't understand him, but they kept quiet for pride's sake more than anything else. He told them a bit about how the school worked and how the schedules were laid out.

Apparently, there were eight periods, including a study hall that took place second period and a lunch period which varied. Because the school couldn't fit everyone into the same lunch period, some students had it fourth period and some had it fifth. Aside from that, each student had two elective classes and the three core classes: math, English, and science. Adrian had said something more after that, but they'd kinda tuned him out, thinking about how hungry they were and how stupid not to have made something, or at least brought some cash. Syuusuke was definitely feeling more than a little idiotic when he realized he'd forgotten his wallet at Rosanne's house.

"Nya, Adrian –" Eiji cut himself off before adding any honorifics. "What about clubs?"

"Oh, well, there's _lots_ of different clubs. What are you interested in?" Adrian turned away from one of his other friends and smiled a boyish smile.

"How about sports?"

"Well, there's badminton, baseball – " He began rattling off the sports and Fuji found himself wondering how he remembered all these names, much less rehearse them in one breath. Both Asian boys found themselves rather disappointed that the school didn't have a tennis team. They had badminton, but for some reason, they didn't really wanna play it.

Luckily for their entertainment, there was a park located near where they were staying that was equipped with a fenced court. Of course, now they just had to get _in_ the fence, but when Syuusuke said he'd take care of it, Kikumaru decided not to question it.

--

**Fuji and Kikumaru**

**Calculus AB**

Morning came all too early, in both their opinions. All they'd wanted was to sleep a bit, but no, school just had to come and call. Fuji found himself having a hard time keeping his eyes open and he noticed that Kikumaru was already well past consciousness, drifting somewhere in the land of dreams. The class seemed to ignore them for the most part, so Eiji went unnoticed, but Syuusuke did feel a bit bad when he had to poke the other boy awake as the teacher came around.

After calculus, the day passed slowly for both of them. They had most of the classes apart, but had at least found some joy in the fact that they were allowed to nap in study hall. It was certainly a blessing for the boys.

It wasn't until later, in last period PE, that anything interesting happened. The coach, a Mr. Davis, told them that uniforms were bring ordered for them and that, until they arrived, they had a choice of either sitting out or playing in the clothes they had. They opted for the latter, figuring a little exercise would do them good after having been cooped up the last few days. They were already wearing tennis shoes so they figured whatever it was they had to do, it wouldn't be too bad. They walked into the gym with the rest of the class and the coach ordered laps.

"Hey, new kids, don't cry if you can't keep up, 'kay?" One kid with bleached blonde hair leered at them. Fuji opened his eyes to stare at him and the kid flinched back.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'm sure we'll be fine." The two took off and proved their words right when they were still running with barely a sweat after 10 minutes. Most of the students had already dropped to rest, but there were a few others left, aside from Eiji and Syuusuke. The coach blew a whistle and they all stopped to listen to him.

"We're going to be splitting up today. Half of you can play volleyball; the other half will be doing badminton." He began splitting them up, motioning for them to go in different corners. Fuji and Kikumaru found themselves in the group to play volleyball and were grateful for the times Seigaku had played beach volleyball together. They were both good at the sport and kept up fairly well, much to the dismay of the blonde kid.

At the end of class, they were headed back to the locker rooms and both sent Inui and his training regimen a blessing seeing as their clothes weren't very sweaty. Who knew they were so much more fit than these American kids? Back in Japan, they'd been on par with their opponents, hadn't they?

They picked up their bags from the coach's office – he'd had them leave their stuff there because people were likely to steal stuff and they didn't have lockers yet – and went stood quietly while Coach Davis assigned them PE lockers.

"You can't use these for anything other than class, understood?" He said, handing them locks. The nodded and hooked them on their chosen lockers.

"Nya," Eiji sighed. "We're working for Rosanne-san after school, right?"

"English, Eiji." Fuji chided. "And yeah, so we'd better head home quickly. And maybe buy some food on the way." Eiji nodded his headed and started out, but was stopped when someone tapped them on the shoulder.

"Kikumaru-sempai? Fuji-sempai?" A deep voice asked. They turned and saw the signature white cap being slapped onto the boy's head as soon as the bell rang.

Kikumaru blinked at the boy before grinning hugely and glomping him. "Ochibi!! Fujiko, its Ochibi!!" He half shouted, squeezing the life out of his kohai.

Fuji's smile widened, but he took pity on the boy and pried Eiji off. "Well, if it isn't Echizen." Said boy pulled his cap down over his eyes, ignoring all the students that stared at them for speaking in Japanese…and the glomp…the glomp sorta scared them.

"What're you doing in America?" The golden-eyed boy asked.

"Eiji signed us up for an exchange program here." Fuji said simply, smiling amusedly at all the attention they were warranting.

"Really? How come? Something happen at Seigaku? Er…you _do_ still go to Seigaku, right?" Ryoma asked.

"Hoi, of course." Eiji laughed happily, but didn't answer the question. Ryoma didn't push it.

"Where are you guys staying?" Echizen steered them out of the school.

"With a nice lady at Velano Merchandise." Eiji grinned. Ryoma choked on the water he had just swallowed.

"Rosanne?" He coughed. "You're staying with _Rosanne_?"

"Yes, why? Do you happen to know her?" Fuji asked pleasantly. Ryoma merely tugged his hat down. Fuji's smile widened. "Well, in any case, we'd better be heading there. We have work to do. Nice seeing you again, Echizen."

"Ah." Ryoma nodded. "Although, you may be seeing me sooner than you think." He said before they parted ways. The two seniors looked at each other in confusion, but shrugged and brushed it aside.

**AN: I was going to put them in L.A. because that's where Ryoma lived previously, but I don't know anything about Los Angeles, so it's sort of more like a city from my imagination. I'll still call it L.A. but I'm sure it'll be very different.**

**Also, the high school is based off of what my high school is like, so it's going to be an American system. I felt like ten periods was too many, so I cut it down to eight with lunch and study hall. The years don't really match up with Eiji and Syuu in senior year and Ryo in sophomore, but it's still two years apart and the third years are graduating…or going back to Japan. I have no clue how long this exchange program is gonna be.**

**Oh, and I have no clue how an exchange program really works, so I probably got some stuff wrong.**

**In case anyone is interested, these are their schedules.**

**Ryoma**

Sophomore English

Study Hall

Psychology

Algebra 3-4

Lunch

Biology 1-2

World History

Physical Education

**Syuusuke**

Calculus AB

Study Hall

Photography 1-2

World History

Lunch

Senior English

Chemistry 1-2

Physical Education

**Eiji**

Calculus AB

Study Hall

Drama

World History

Lunch

Physics 1-2

Senior English

Physical Education


End file.
